Land Mines
get rid of em
What is a Landmine?
Antipersonnel landmines are explosive devices designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a person. Placed under or on the ground, they can lie dormant for years and even decades until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.
Incapable of distinguishing between the footfall of a soldier and that of a child, antipersonnel mines cannot be aimed. They indiscriminately kill or injure civilians, aid workers, peacekeepers and soldiers alike. They pose a threat to the safety of civilians during conflicts and long afterwards.
The Aftermath
Stepping on a blast antipersonnel mine will invariably cause severe foot and leg injuries, and secondary infections usually resulting in amputation. Fragmentation minesproject hundreds of metal fragments, showering the victim with deep wounds. Bounding fragmentation mines are more powerful versions: they spring up about 1 meter and then explode, firing metal fragments to a large radius at waist height.
Removal
Landmines are unaffected by cease-fires or peace. The only way to deactivate them is by individual removal at a cost of US$ 300–1000 per mine. Even with training, mine disposal experts expect that for every 5000 mines cleared one worker will be killed and two workers will be injured by accidental explosions.
The Treaty
The 1997 Mine Ban Treaty is a legally binding international agreement that bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of antipersonnel mines and places obligations on countries to clear affected areas, assist victims and destroy stockpiles.
The Treaty is the best framework for solving the problems still posed by antipersonnel mines all over the world. The mobilization of thousands of ordinary citizens, through the ICBL campaign network, played a crucial part in the adoption of this international treaty, and continues to play a central role in its universalization and implementation today
Treaty Status
The Mine Ban Treaty is one of the world's most widely accepted treaties: over 80% of the world's countries are States Parties to the treaty. There are currently 162 States Parties. Only 35 states remain outside the treaty, but most of them do not actually use or produce antipersonnel mines